Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud;”
1 Kings 8:12
When God decided to show the Israelites (and us) what Heaven was like (Hebrews 8:5), He instructed Moses to build a Tabernacle or a Tent. This had three parts which represent the three heavens. The Most Holy Place (Exodus 26) represents the third heaven and it was not brightly lit – at least in it’s old testament shadow. This was mainly because there was a veil between it and the Holy Place where the light was. Thankfully that veil is now taken out of the way because of what Jesus did on the Cross (Matthew 27:51). Likewise, when we are born again we can see the Kingdom of God (John 3:3) and the veil over our minds is taken away (2 Corinthians 3:16).
The light in the Holy Place was bright and lit up all the things in the Holy Place once it was alight (it was never supposed to go out). The things the lampstand lit up included the Word of God (the table of showbread) and prayer (the altar of incense) as well as the throne of God Himself (the Ark of the Covenant) which contains our pure spiritual food (gold jar of manna), God’s promises to us (the stone tablets of the covenant) and all authority (Aaron’s rod that budded). But as the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews writes: “We cannot discuss these things in detail now.” (Hebrews 9:5)
The lampstand consisted of 7 oil lamps which were the brightest lamps available at the time. Without the lampstand, filled with burning oil the Holy Place would have been dark indeed. The Holy Place was covered over by four layers of coverings.
Rose Publishing. Rose Guide to the Tabernacle (pp. 59-61). Rose Publishing. Kindle Edition.
We know from the Book of Revelation (chapter 1 verse 20) that the lampstand(s) are the Church, the Body of Christ. Each local church is a lampstand. The olive oil that was used as fuel (Exodus 27:20, Lev. 24:2) was also used for the priest’s anointing oil (Exodus 35:28) and the flame is the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:3). If a church, the body of believers, are not anointed and burning there is no light and everything about God is dark, hidden. It is up to the priests to make sure the lamp is kept full of oil and lit at all times.
5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:5
The church is the light of the world:
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
Matthew 5:14-15
But if the light that is in you is darkness how great is that darkness (Matthew 5:22-23)! This explains why churches without the anointing can be some of the most oppressive places on earth.
We must approach God with boldness to find grace to help in this time of need (Hebrews 4:16). It is critical that those who call themselves Christians have a pure, spiritual understanding of what it is to know God who is Spirit (John 4:24). We cannot afford to be so earthly minded we are no good for heaven or earth. Unless our good deeds flow from and through God we may end up with nothing to show for it all on the Judgement Day (Matthew 7:22, 1 Cor.13:1-4).
Are you sure what you are doing is being done in the sight of God (John 3:19-21) and isn’t just built on the wisdom of man (1 Cor. 1:18-31)?
faithfulwon 